Friday, September 27, 2013

My poor old piano is getting tuned today. The tuner lady said that it has gone rather flat during the past 7 years or so of neglect. She is going to bring it up to pitch today, but it will probably need to be retuned in about 6 months, then a year.

The inspiration for getting the piano tuned is the fact that I have started taking violin lessons! I started about three months ago with a violin that was borrowed from a family in my church. Their daughter had played in high school, but gave it up when she went on to college and so it was just sitting unused under a bed in their house.

I ended up having difficulty playing the full size violin, so I recently bought a 3/4 size from a local string store with a really good reputation. My teacher as well as a friend of mine are both well-known to this shop, and so I think I was treated rather exceptionally well. :) They let me borrow the two instruments I was most interested in for up to two weeks while I made a decision. It was a hard one, but I finally chose the more expensive one. It has a bit more shrill tone, but the notes sound a bit truer and I am able to hear myself playing better.

My new violin

Learning the violin is on the hard side as far as instruments go. What looks easy - moving the bow across the strings to make a nice sound - is actually hard to learn. I can tell the difference in sound when I am properly using the weight of my arm on the bow, but it's so hard to do that consistently.

Yes, Denis plays guitar and mandolin. Yesterday, after the piano tuner left, I spent the next three hours or so playing either piano or violin. there is a song that I would like to get to the point of being able record myself playing it on the piano so I can play the melody on the violin. For now, I recorded myself on the guitar and have played it with that track. But the piano accompaniment is so much nicer.

I do remember now that Denis plays the guitar. I wish I had learned to play something when I was a child, but my mom was pretty certain she would have to nag me to practice. Either that or they just didn't have the money for an instrument. Alas, I am guilty of the very same thing with some of my kids.

About Me

I am 40-something years old, and married for five years. We have no children except our three cats. I have traveled extensively in the United States. I lived in Bolivia, South America for two years and have been to India three times. I am a Christian and am extremely blessed to have had all these experiences.